Wednesday, 3 November 2010

The X factor solution to the deficit

If only there was a magic wand for the deficit. Senior Tory Lord James of Blackheath suggested that he may have found it.

James is best known for conducting the review for Michael Howard which claimed to have identified £35 billion of savings in public spending before the 2005 election.

In a remarkable speech to the Lords on the Comprehensive Spending Review, about which Hopi Sen has blogged in detail, James set out a potentially important new source of public funding.

For the past 20 weeks I have been engaged in a very strange dialogue with the two noble Lords, in the course of which I have been trying to bring to their attention the willing availability of a strange organisation which wishes to make a great deal of money available to assist the recovery of the economy in this country. For want of a better name, I shall call it foundation X. That is not its real name, but it will do for the moment. Foundation X was introduced to me 20 weeks ago last week by an eminent City firm, which is FSA controlled. Its chairman came to me and said, "We have this extraordinary request to assist in a major financial reconstruction. It is megabucks, but we need your help to assist us in understanding whether this business is legitimate".

...

Foundation X is saying at this moment that it is prepared to put up the entire £5 billion for the funding of the three Is recreation; the British Government can have the entire independent management and control of it - foundation X does not want anything to do with it; there will be no interest charged; and, by the way, if the British Government would like it as well, if it will help, it will be prepared to put up money for funding hospitals, schools, the building of Crossrail immediately with £17 billion transfer by Christmas, if requested, and all these other things. These things can be done, if wished, but a senior member of the Government has to accept the invitation to a phone call to the chairman of foundation X - and then we can get into business.

Dr. Ray C. Dam is a person, but His Excellency Dr. Ray C. Dam is a certified and indemnified international Central Banking financial institution operating as The Office of International Treasury Control ... Though not generally or publicly known, OITC is the largest International Institution of its kind. It is the largest single owner of gold and platinum bullion in the World ... It should be noted that only a few persons in each country of the world are eligible to be able to verify, or undertake a verification, re: the position of Dr. Ray C. Dam (International Treasury Controller) and the Office of International Treasury Control.